This book cover image released by Soho Press shows "Little Elvises," by Timothy Hallinan. (AP Photo/Soho Press)
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This book cover image released by Soho Press shows "Little Elvises," by Timothy Hallinan. (AP Photo/Soho Press)
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Brian Gay poses with the trophy after winning the Humana Challenge PGA golf tournament on the Palmer Private Course at PGA West, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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Brian Gay hits from the tee on the 14th hole during the final round of the Humana Challenge golf tournament on the Palmer Private course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. Gay defeated Charles Howell III on the second playoff hole to win the tournament. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
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Scott Stallings hits off the fifth tee during the final round of the Humana Challenge PGA golf tournament on the Palmer Private Course at PGA West, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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Brian Gay putts on the 18th green during the final round of the Humana Challenge PGA golf tournament on the Palmer Private Course at PGA West, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013, in La Quinta, Calif. Gay won the tournament on the second hole of a playoff. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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Brian Gay, left, gestures as he approaches the 18th green during the final round of the Humana Challenge PGA golf tournament on the Arnold Palmer Private Course at PGA West, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013, in La Quinta, Calif. Gay won on the second hole of a playoff. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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Charles Howell III reacts after missing the potential winning putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the Humana Challenge golf tournament on the Palmer Private course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. Howell lost on the second playoff hole to Brian Gay. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
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Brian Gay waves after winning the Humana Challenge golf tournament on the Palmer Private Course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
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David Lingmerth follows his shot off the 18th tee during the final round of the Humana Challenge PGA golf tournament on the Palmer Private Course at PGA West, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013, in La Quinta, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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Charles Howell III hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the Humana Challenge golf tournament on the Palmer Private course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Review: Anti-hero Keller is back in 'Hit Me'
"Hit Me" (Mulholland Books), by
Lawrence BlockWhen we last left Keller, Lawrence Block's killer-for-hire anti-hero, he was on the run after being framed for a political assassination in the 2008 thriller, "Hit and Run."
Now, five years later, we find living him living in New Orleans with a new identity, Nicholas Edwards. He's got a charming new wife named Julia, who knows about his past, and daughter Jenny makes three. Instead of poisoning, strangling, or shooting people, he's making a living rehabbing and flipping houses.
But the economy being what it is, there's not much of a market for houses these days, so Keller is spending a lot of time hanging out with the family and working on his stamp collection. So when his old murder broker, Dot, gets in touch about a job, he's ready to get back into the game.
What Keller likes about the work is the meticulous planning that goes into each hit, so in the early chapters, that is what Block dwells on. The kills themselves are anticlimactic, each carried out with swift efficiency and without remorse.
But as Block gets deeper into the story, the planning, too, takes a back seat to the killer's obsession with his hobby. Keller spends most of his time and energy attending stamp shows, bidding at stamp auctions and negotiating the sale of a seductive widow's extensive collection. In the last third of the book, his profession seems almost an afterthought.
In the hands of a lesser writer, the philately passages would be insufferable, but Block makes them interesting in their own right as well a window into the soul of a hit man who can dispatch innocent bystanders without remorse but won't cheat on his wife and insists on being scrupulously honest in the buying and selling of collectible stamps.
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Online:
http://brucedesilva.com/
http://lawrenceblock.com/
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Bruce DeSilva, winner of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award, is the author of "Cliff Walk" and "Rogue Island."
Tags:
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